"I wrote a fan letter back in 1997 to Isaac Hanson, the lead singer
of Hanson. I e-mailed it to him at an address provided. In fact, I saved the
response. I really doubt that it was him answering, but this is what the reply
was: 'Thanx for you coments on the way I look.'"
 Gauri Shrotriya, Columbus, Ohio

"When I was 10, my mom told me she used to baby-sit Tom Wopat (Luke
Duke) when he was a boy back on the farm in Wisconsin. So I wrote him a long
letter telling him all kinds of stuff that only someone who knew him would know.
About nine months later, I got a stamped photograph with a form letter saying,
'Thanks for your fan letter! Be sure to go out and buy my new album!'"
 Kevin Thoresen, West Melbourne, Fla.

"I wrote a fan letter to Lara Jill Miller from Gimme A Break
some 20 years ago. I waited weeks and weeks, and one day I FINALLY got a card
from her. It was a postcard with her studio picture on the front and an actual
honest-to-goodness handwritten personal note on the back. I still have this
tucked away in a box of mementos in my attic. I seem to remember writing her
back, but if I did I don't think I ever got a response. Then I read a few weeks
ago (in People) that her housemate is someone she started a pen-pal relationship
with after getting a fan mail letter about 20 years ago. Just think, that could
have been me ... yeah, right!"
 Mark Songer, Charlotte, N.C.

"A few years back, I read the autobiographical Severe Mercy, by
Sheldon Van Auken, and wrote him a glowing fan letter prefaced with a
line that said I was aware I knew him far better than he knew me (because I'd
read his book) and that I wouldn't presuppose a false intimacy in my fan letter
because 'I hadn't shared with him the experiences he'd gone through.' I also
asked him if he wouldn't mind 'sharing' some additional experiences. What I
received was a treatise on the word 'share,' which means to willingly part with
something possessed; it also means 'a piece of something.' Mr. Van Auken kindly
supplied me with a list of more appropriate verbs for my request: tell, impart,
convey, describe, explain, discuss, etc. He also begged me to join with him
in the fight to preserve the usefulness of the word 'share,' which, because
of imprecise usage, is in grave danger of slipping into a gray, watery grave
of meaninglessness. I kid you not."
 Matt Evans, Orem, Utah

"Every other year or so, I select some B-list celebrities and send them
Christmas cards, and not one of them has ever responded. I mean, I figured people
like Ringo, Jason Alexander, Bob Barker, Shelley Long,
Kristian Alfonso, etc. could spare five minutes at this point, but apparently
not. Fear not, though ... I have Alice Cooper in my sights this year,
and victory is certain!"
 Jack McDonald, Bloomington, Ill.

"When we were around 13, my best friend Janet and I were big fans of McMillan
and Wife and had a huge crush on Rock Hudson. We wanted to write
a fan letter to Rock but we were afraid it would never get to him. We knew that
he was very close friends with Carol Burnett, and somehow we found out
her home address. So we wrote a letter to Carol at her home and asked her to
forward our fan letter to him. We thought we were so clever. We never heard
back from Rock, but we did get a nice letter on Carol Burnett Show stationery
saying that she sent our letter to him."
 Lisa Vieira, Arlington, Mass.

"I was about 9 or 10 when Carol Burnett's comedy hour went off
the air. I wrote her a letter telling her how sad I was and how unfair those
TV people were. And I asked her a bunch of silly child-type questions. I received
a typed response that actually replied to all my questions to her. To this day,
I believe she did it herself. It was so personal."
 Tammi Shapiro, Bethesda, Md.

"OK, I know, as a 27-year-old TV weatherman and reporter, getting all
bent out of shape over someone 'famous' is considered a big no-no. But I'm still
human, so here goes: I took the fan letter thing a step further. I'll admit
I'm a huge fan of Jennifer Love Hewitt. I think she's cute, funny and
would make a perfect Mrs. Matt Otstot. But I digress ... I knew she'd be hosting
a benefit show at the Laugh Factory on Sunset in Hollywood a while back. So
I sent her a dozen red roses, recorded a message on one of those 800-number
card things and had it special-delivered to the club. Well, thanks to confirmation,
I know she (or somebody) received the flowers. But not so much as a peep of
thanks in return. Eighty dollars down the drain."
 Matt Otstot, Fresno, Calif.

"When Sebastian Cabot ("Mr. French" on Family Affair)
first got sick with cancer, I was heartbroken. I sent him a get-well card. I
think I got a thank-you card in return. Alas, it was to no avail. He died anyway!
I loved Mr. French!"
 Kim Quinn, Dallas

"As a teenager, I was the Queen of Fan Letters. ... To prove it, I have
autographed pictures of both Kiefer Sutherland (how dreamy was he in
The Lost Boys?) and Kevin Kubusheskie (of You Can't Do That
on Television fame). I also have unsigned glossies of everyone from Patrick
Swayze to the Monkees. As an adult, I can't believe that I ever indulged in
such idolatry over mere mortals. However, I do confess to writing one fan letter
in the last five years: to Linda Ellerbee. I happened across her e-mail
address on the Internet and took the opportunity to pour out all of my heartfelt
thanks for both her writing and her status as a personal and professional inspiration
to me. Not only did she write back, but we sent several conversational e-mails
to each other over the next few weeks! She was as warm, genuine and witty in
cyberland as in her books and on television. Even though I am 30, I STILL want
to be just like her when I grow up."
 Anna Goodman Hoover, Lexington, Ky.

"Back in late-1979/early1980, I was a 15-year-old with a desperate crush
on Timothy Hutton. I think I wrote him a couple of times over the course
of several months. I must have read something in Tiger Beat or 16
that gave fan letter tips, because I would include information about our
mutual 'fave things,' and, for some reason unknown to me (because I'd never
done it before and never since), I included my phone number. One night I happened
to answer the phone to someone asking for me. When I said it was me, this beautifully
gentle voice told me he was Timothy Hutton and he had gotten my letter and wanted
to call to say hello. To say I was in shock would be an understatement of mammoth
proportions. I stammered and stuttered my way into totally ruining a once-in-a-lifetime
situation. (Hey, at least I didn't squeal in his ear.) Once we hung up, I sat
for a second, then went running into the other room where my family was. I couldn't
talk. ... I had to run back to my room, pull his picture off my wall and wave
it around until they understood. ... If there had been any doubt whatsoever
in my mind as to the validity of the call (no one else knew I wrote him and
certainly not that I'd put a phone number), that would have been erased forever
when about three days later I got an autographed photo from him in the mail.
Yes, it's still my pride and joy!"
 Rhonda Reddick, Irving, Texas

"In the early '80s, I wrote a silly letter to Pierce Brosnan, then
starring as 'Remington Steele,' and asked him to please attend my girlfriend's
birthday party because he was her FAVORITE star. He (or his assistant) was kind
enough to send a nice note declining the invitation, along with two signed photos.
My girlfriend picked the photo she liked best, and I framed the other and it
hangs on my wall today. On it is written: 'To Becky, Luck and Love, xxxx, Pierce
Brosnan.'"
 Becky Hollon, New Albany, Ind.

"When I was about 11, I wrote fan letters to Hayley Mills and Rick
Nelson. I received a nice 8-by-10 glossy from Hayley, but I received bupkus
from the irrepressible Ricky."
 Jennifer Grandi, Ogden, Utah